The ocean is the largest
living space on the planet, covering more than 70 percent of its surface. It is
a resilient and dynamic environment, however everything has limits. Marine
conservation is a term that refers to protection and preservation and at the
core is the understanding that we need to limit and restore the damage.
Why the Ocean is
important:
When we start to
understand our intimate relationship with the ocean we recognise more clearly
that our well being is dependent on the health of the sea and the environmental
services it provides for us.
Long before animals
appeared on earth, a tiny blue-green bacteria living in ocean was the first to begin
to the use the sun’s light for energy it needed to live. The process,
photosynthesis, split water molecules. The reaction released oxygen and the
cyanobacteria became abundant. Over millions of years this oxygen ‘sweetened’
the atmosphere and made it breathable. Although land plants are significant
contributors to it, most of the air we breathe is dependent on ocean processes.
Our early ancestors left sea
to live on land and yet it is still very much part of our lives. In fact, we
are made of the same stuff. In her book, The
Sea Around Us, Dr. Rachel Carson explained that our bodies contain the same
chemical elements as sea water in approximately the same proportion.
Dr.
Sylvia Earle, whom the New York Times named Hero for the Planet, also provided
us with another perspective during her winning TED Talk prize Wish to protect
our oceans. Our world’s biggest assets
are resources held in the sea. It is a bank holding our future. We need to
protect it and keep it healthy.
Australians are
responsible for an ocean territory larger than our land mass. Australia is
charged with looking after the waters from our coasts outward to 200 nautical
miles. As representatives of the community a suite of government agencies
enforce laws, regulations, policy to protect our waters. Ultimately, though, it
is up to individuals to use their actions and their voices to influence ocean
health. First we need to understand what is going wrong, things are out of
balance.
The baseline of what is
healthy and normal has shifted radically and what one generation knew to be
true of their environment is not the same in later generations. It is not
merely a matter of evolution.
Human impacts
We extract oil and
minerals. We hunt ocean food as individuals, as communities or in commercial
quantities using super-sized fishing vessels. Once productive fisheries have already
collapsed and 90 percent of biggest fish in the sea are gone. We fish more
thoroughly and extensively than at any time in the past.
Although some marine pollution
comes directly from ships and boats, most pollution comes from where people
live, on the land.
Ships harbour exotic
marine organisms in ballast water and clinging to their hulls. These invaders are
turning up in habitats where there are no natural controls, placing pressure on
native species with devastating results.
As a result of polluted
stormwater run-off, ocean gyres of the world have captured plastics and marine
debris that swirl in large slow endless whirlpools of trash. Over 450 dead
zones are currently identified.
“On a global scale,
approximately 80 per cent of marine pollution arises from land-based activities
such as urban development, agriculture, manufacture, transport, energy
production and day-to-day domestic activity. Types of pollution include litter
and oils, municipal wastewater, nutrients and sediments, radioactive waste,
heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants. Once in the marine environment,
the pollutants are absorbed by marine life, settle in river mouths and on the
ocean floor, or follow currents and eddies to distant locations. The pollutants
pay no attention to national maritime boundaries or the sensitivity of the
ecosystems they impact upon.”
The good news is that
everyone, at home, work, on the land and off it, can make a difference.
What is being done about it
There are natural systems
like vegetated river banks, floodplains, salt marshes, mangroves and inshore
seagrasses that act as natural filtering zones for run-off. These systems help
to mitigate or halt the flow of harmful pollution riding in and on stormwater
run-off.
Scientists assess the
health of the marine environment through measures and monitoring of change. They
are taking a greater interest in employing community volunteers to help them
fill in these knowledge gaps and we are beginning to see a new generation of citizen scientists emerge.
Initiatives that observe
and record information about marine animals, plants and habitats around Australia are training
the community how to gather data. The facts and figures then feed into information
hubs that can help inform management decisions. Participants learn more about
their environment; provide a community service and contribute an informed voice
to government. School students are one sector taking up the challenge.
Outdoor educators can
encourage action. It can be useful to identify local volunteer programs for
students by checking with the local council or looking up conservation groups
like; Coastcare, Coast Action, Conservation Volunteers. Speaking directly with
community groups and volunteer programs may assist students wanting undertake
their own conservation initiative. Some coastal conservation leadership tools
can be found on AUSMEPA’s website: http://www.ausmepa.org.au/student-leadership/
Action to conservation marine ecosystems
A marine ecosystem
describes an ocean environment that has certain physical features and a network
of living things that interact in a balanced manner. Marine ecosystems can be
conserved by preventing pollution from the land however important conservation
actions can be more direct.
There are many marine
conservation groups like; Coral Watch, Ghost nets Australia, Mangrove Watch,
Reef Watch or Reef Check, Turtle Care and Seagrass Watch who work in and
around coastal waters to protect ecosystems. Prevention is better than cure and remediation is challenging.
Seagrass restoration
Shallow seagrass meadows
at the northern and eastern portions of Westernport Victoria vanished in the 1980’s affecting
coastal buffering from wave and current action. The community around
Westernport Victoria
were appalled as seagrass turned to mudflat and erosion noticeably speeded up.
Highly sought after
commercial fish species depend on seagrasses as nursery areas. The modest
looking seagrass meadows have been described as extremely high output marine
food factories. These unassuming true plants have roots, flowers and leaves,
unlike the macro algae we call seaweeds. A large numbers of animals shelter in
seagrass creating a dynamic web of life. When the seagrass disappeared baby
fish weren’t able to find the protection and food they needed. One notable
species affected was King George Whiting.
During the time since the
die-off some very slow natural regeneration has occurred. Although early
community efforts to restore seagrass were unsuccessful, persistence was
rewarded. The Westernport Seagrass Partnership
working with scientists, government agencies and schools built a growing
picture of what the impacts were and what collateral damage occurred.
Additionally they were able to trial and improve on what restoration techniques
worked and the importance of continuing conservation efforts to protect coastal
seagrass meadows for the future.
Marine Parks and stewardship
Australia is surrounded by one ocean with many names; Indian
Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Southern Ocean, Indo-Pacific
Ocean, Coral Sea, Tasman Sea, Torres
Strait, Bass Strait and more. Around the
country there is a growing recognition of the need for safety zones to conserve
and protect our marine flora and fauna. Marine Protected Areas (MPA), or wet
parks, can have several levels of protection.
Arguably the most
important MPAs are ‘no take’ areas that exclude extractive activities like
fishing or mining. They are sanctuaries for plants and animals, look but don’t
take. They are open to education, scientific research, tourism, recreational
activities and have become ‘hope spots’ for the enduring health of the ocean.
There are opportunities
for outdoor educators to engage with marine
park managers and friends groups.
An example of one is Ricketts Point Marine Care.
It is made up of people who advocated a representative system of no-take marine
parks prior to the turn of the century and were finally rewarded with their own
Ricketts Point Marine Sanctuary 10 years ago. These enthusiastic people provide
community and school based environmental education programs and activities,
monitor the health of tidal and sub-tidal reefs and they work with state
agencies to ensure that the area is suitably protected from negligent or
careless action by others.
The bottom line: adopting
a marine park, restoring coastal vegetation or engaging in scientific marine
monitoring is not only useful and instructive, it is fun and gives a sense of
worth. If you live by the sea and you don’t have a marine park friends group
nearby you may want to start one.
Enough for all forever
Australians love the sea;
it is part of us, part of our history and will determine our future. Each of us
has a part to play in keeping our waters clean and healthy. As individuals we
can reduce the amount of waste we produce, reuse or recycle more and pick up
three pieces of litter a day. We can make a choice to give back to the planet
through participation in community monitoring or restoration efforts. And we
can use our individual actions and our words to make sure that governments know
how important it is to keep our ocean clean, healthy and sustainable.
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The AUSMEPA believes that you
and your kids can make a difference. Visit their website www.ausmepa.org.au for a range of marine
education resources including student research units, leadership tools for
coastal conservation, literacy readers and school based marine conservation
projects will be considered for the Rhondda Alexander Memorial Education Grant.
www.ausmepa.org.au
